The cities of Donaldsonville and Plaquemine have weighed in on the issue of whether a section of Old Mandeville should be turned into a historic district with tighter regulations on historic structures and new developments. With the Mandeville City Council set to vote on the issue Thursday night, the two south Louisiana municipalities have sent emails to council members urging them to vote in favor of creating the district.

Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Plaquemines has had a historic preservation ordinance in place since 1989 and it was re-adopted in 2008, according to the email from Kristine Hebert, Plaquemine's special project director. The original ordinance was passed with some concern, she said, but it ultimately helped revive the city's historic area.

"Please consider favorable passage...," Hebert said of Mandeville's historic district ordinance. "This is a method of maintaining property values, promoting a green environment, providing employment opportunities through renovations and preventing your significant area from being homogenized."

Missy Jandura, the Donaldsonville Downtown Development District Executive Director, also submitted an email in support of a historic district. In it, Jandura refutes charges that such districts are overly restrictive and dictate what color homes can be painted and how gardens must be designed.

"It is not about paint. It is not about which camelia to plant. That is an unfair and an insulting generalization," Jandura said. "Establishing a district is about marketing and protecting the unique opportunities your ancestors bequeathed to you. Nobody will be waxing poetic about an ugly metal buildings rusting 20 years from now."

Mandeville City Councilman Ernest Burguieres, who represents Old Mandeville, said he plans to invite representatives from other cities and communities that have historic districts to Thursday's council meeting in an effort to blunt the criticism from several opponents of the ordinance who have fought its creation at every turn.

Gerard Braud, one of the most outspoken critics of the district, told the city's Planning and Zoning Commission last week that a ugly battle would take place if the issue landed before the City Council, which has the final say. The commission approved the ordinance and forwarded it to the council, setting up Thursday's anticipated final vote.

Braud and others say they support the concept of protecting historic structures but object to the way the ordinance would accomplish that goal. Under its general provisions, the ordinance would establish a historic district in Old Mandeville and a preservation commission would have a say in new developments in the area and renovations to structures classified as historical in a 2008 survey by historian Sally Reeves. Only buildings 50 years old or older are eligible for the classification.

The opponents say the proposal is too restrictive, infringes on personal freedoms and creates another unneeded layer of government. Braud has proposed a "voluntary" historic district whereby individual property owners could choose if they wanted to be a part of the district. City officials have not embraced that proposal.

Burguieres and other proponents of the ordinance have noted that cities throughout the country have historic districts that serve to enhance property values, encourage better quality construction and provide eligibility for tax credits and tax abatement programs.